"Did you go through everything?" Olivia asks while the flat iron forms long curls on her hair. Already wearing a white mid-length dress with red flowers on it, she only needs to finish a few last strands and grab a light jacket before they can go out for lunch.
Outside of the bathroom, Fitz waits for her. Seated on an armchair in her bedroom, he holds a laptop on his lap, acutely aware that if he's in this position too long his neck will hurt for the rest of the day. "Multiple times but I don't know."
Olivia sighs quietly to herself. Of course, he's second-guessing this. "A bigger space could be useful, enough for guests and to make it feel homely."
"A garden could be nice too," he completes.
"But if it's too big it won't feel warm–"
"And we have to consider a view," Fitz interrupts.
"C'mon, we've talked about this. A nice skyline is enough."
"She loves nature!" Fitz rebuffs.
Olivia leaves the bathroom and stares at him, tenderly, yet slightly annoyed. "If Karen wanted only nature then she wouldn't go to New York," Olivia says with a raised eyebrow. "She can always visit Jerry there, she can go to the ranch if she misses the horses or you know… travel for everything else."
Fitz runs his hands through his hair, that one stubborn curl stays on his forehead, and the moment only makes him annoyed at how long his hair is; "Why do they grow up so fast?"
"That's life for you." Olivia stands beside him and caresses his hand. "Just focus on the ones you like more and show it to her. She knows better than we do how she wants to live."
"She's going to like you so much," Fitz beams and Olivia shivers with Fitz's hands still in hers.
She's purposely avoided thinking about it. She knows she's good with people and overall well-liked but this is different. "At least they'll be together. I don't have to panic about them finding out they hate me at two different events."
"They're gonna love you," Fitz responds, almost insulted.
Olivia lifts her hands in self-defense. "Alright, if you say so." She rolls her eyes but manages a small smile, somehow his confidence spilling over to her. "We should go before we're late."
"Yes, we should," he agrees. Olivia offers her hand for him to get up. Standing, Fitz towers over her. "You look beautiful."
Olivia seemed to glow with joy and happiness with Fitz's gaze on her. Linking their arms around together she leads them through their walk together to the door.
Their days have been so easy, Olivia thinks to herself. They're not always special. Sometimes she gets home late and Fitz's still writing, so focused and typing so eagerly, she's contended with just having him around even if she doesn't say a word. Other times she gets home or the hotel, depending on what their days have been like, and they talk for hours, make love, or fuck, whichever they're in the mood for. It isn't the emotional rollercoaster it used to be when they first met and for that she's thankful. Work's been hard lately and the comfort of going to a place where he'll be may not fix everything but it certainly makes every day better.
Their driver leads them to their destination and she brushes her thumb on his hand mindlessly, her eyes staring out the window. Her father's house is almost empty. She only needs people to pick up some of the furniture that's left and it will be all done. There's no way everything would've moved along so fast and seamlessly without his help, what had seemed impossible became bearable, so what else could she possibly want?
Anxiety and fear, on her worst days, would loom in the back of her mind. When she was exhausted and sleep wouldn't come, thoughts of what could happen outside of their small bubble or if they stayed like this could lead to the panic-ridden idea that, even in this state, things might not work long-term. But she never let herself sit with those kinds of thoughts for too long. It was too painful to bear, and she'd also made a promise.
In the middle of the night, with three of his fingers inside her, whimpering, she struggled to stay coherent, but she did it for him: she would never leave or make decisions that would change both of their lives without talking to him first. No disappearing or resignation letter on a desk with no words spoken. Committed is the word he used. They're committed to each other. They hadn't put exact words to describe it. Girlfriend and boyfriend are too childish, partners feels cold. But they were real, what they had is real.
The car stops in front of a big white house and she's faced with another piece of what she could have now.
Side by side they go through the steps to reach the front door and ring the bell. "Do you think we'll leave here with new jobs?" Fitz asks.
"No," Olivia replies with a small laugh. "I hope not." She falters and scrunches her face.
"Would he convince you with a young, charming, meant-for-greatness candidate that nobody's ever heard of?"
"I think I've had enough of those in my lifetime. Would he get you with the right humanitarian project that'll eventually lead to a just made-up political career for Jerry?"
"Never," he laughs. Leading his son to a path he resented his father for is too outlandish of an idea to consider. Nevertheless, it was something he was fully prepared to hear today.
"Liar." She smiles knowing him too well. "He'd totally get with that first part. You'd forget you needed a break."
"Maybe," he concedes with a shrug. "But I'd only do it now if you joined me." Olivia eyes him curiously and opts to say something later.
As they wait on the front step, her right hand tightly holds around a bouquet of sunflowers, a difficult find this time of year, something she knew Cyrus would appreciate. They look so normal having a double date and bringing over flowers and wine, chosen specifically from Olivia's father's cellar. A reassuring hand squeezes her own and faced with Fitz's smile, she softens a little.
Olivia could only thank God for somehow making James love Cyrus enough to marry him. She wasn't sure she wanted to handle a possible interrogation or the rise of long-buried memories without someone emotionally balanced in the room.
The white door opens and the way James locks his jaw, takes one good look at the pair of them, and bursts into laughter is enough to break any pretense and posturing Olivia had readied herself for.
"Look at the two of you. You look so beautiful together." He tilts his head to the side and takes a good look at them. "It makes sense. I can't believe I never considered it before. "
"Hi to you too, James!" Fitz offers his hand with a warm smile.
James ignores the hand and goes in for a hug. "I'm sorry I just had to get it out from the start. Truly beautiful. Come on in." He brings them both inside, stopping to hug Olivia and take the flowers from her. "These are gorgeous. Cy's going to love them."
Fitz looks around the room, painted a soft blue that is much different than the light shade of gray he saw a few years ago. "I didn't realize it'd been such a long time since I've been here."
"You can visit more now," James suggests. "If you did that before it'd only mean he'd work even more and not even I could handle that."
Fitz chuckles. "Good to know." All around him, he notices different flower arrangements, beautifully made. "Is Cy in the garden?"
"No," James shakes his head. "I made him shower first. He should be down in a moment."
James leads them to the drawing room. "Watch your feet. She's been getting better at it but Ella still leaves toys around the floor."
"How is she?"
"Good. I left her with my sister so we'd be a little freer."
"I wanted to see her," Olivia protests.
Cyrus comes out of the hallway wearing a brown sweater and has the same amount of hair as the last time they saw each other. Well, he doesn't look on his way to another stress-induced heart attack, Olivia thinks to herself.
"Hello, Olivia!" Cyrus drags her name out longer than necessary.
Olivia raises her eyebrows, suspicious and not quite understanding what's going on. Having walked to meet Cyrus, he brings her a little closer and further away from Fitz and James whom she keeps in the corner of her eyes. "What?" she whispers.
"I was in a good mood, you know? At the end of Fitz's term, I was happy. Then he took advantage of me, my own husband."
"You're so dramatic. What happened?"
"I promised to spend more time home. Now he has me going on walks. Walks. I have to pretend to tend to the garden to look at my phone," he spouts almost comically.
"He's adding up years to your life."
"I'm bored," he says, completely ignoring Olivia's words. "This is boring me. I need to leave the house," he mumbles the last few words and fakes a smile when he sees Fitz and James approaching.
"I hear you're taking him out on walks," Olivia mentions to James with a broad smile while Cy hugs Fitz.
"I'm changing, Olivia. Making an effort for my husband." Cyrus' expression is so honest, yet impossible to fool anyone who knows him.
"He absolutely hates it," James admits, assured in his bluntness. "I don't want to raise Ella by myself, so walks it is. Even if he's very annoying about it."
They accommodate themselves in the drawing room. Each couple is seated next to each other on opposite couches, with a beautiful china tea set for them.
"So, how are you going to do this?" Cyrus points at them.
"That's the first thing you ask?" James is reminded at once how predictable his husband can be. "You could've waited five minutes."
"This could be useful, honey. Love post-presidency? That's great, we can work with that."
"You know at one point I did consider making him sign something that would make him stop talking about work at home," James muses. "You don't even know if they're going to make this public, honey."
"True," He claps his hands and gives the utmost serious stare at Fitz and Olivia. "If you are, do you want to give James an interview?"
"Oh, God." James laughs and shakes his head.
"We're going to the fundraiser next month together but that's it. No press, no nothing," Fitz says. "Sorry, James," he jokes. "We're not making it into a public thing. I don't want my face or Olivia's on tabloids. I'm not president anymore, much less a celebrity."
"You could still use it to make money. Bring attention to the right places."
Olivia looks at Fitz and smiles. Here they go.
"Wow!" Fitz exclaims, the moment they get back to Olivia's apartment.
"I love him. You love him." Olivia massages her own neck trying to work through some soreness.
"That man will never retire." He's incredulous despite knowing Cyrus for years. "I don't know how he does it. It's incredible."
"It's scary, that's what it is. " Olivia sits down on the couch to remove her heels.
"Well, he did make some points."
"That depends on what we're talking about. Personally, I'd love for a deal where he has to stay home with no work for at least two months. A sociological experiment"
"James would have to sue him," Fitz says matter of factly. "There's no way an arrangement like that would last." he considers it for a moment. "Well, it could be good for them."
Olivia grins. "What? Spice things up with a lawsuit?"
"Yeah," Fitz replies. He accommodates himself on the couch right next to Olivia, reaches for the remote, and moves it out of the way.
Olivia frowns and considers it for a moment. "You know that would work on him."
"See? Spite might work with him. He's not used to that."
Olivia curls up her legs on the couch and turns her body towards Fitz. With her elbow supported by the back cushion, she leans her head against her fist. "Fitz…Did you mean what you said about getting back to work immediately if it was with me?"
"Of course," Fitz answers, utterly confident, and, for an instant, he looks so young it seems the eight years as a president never happened. "I think if we worked together, no matter what, I'd do it immediately."
The sound of his voice leads and his words cause a sort of trance in which a wave of both calmness and excitement impacts Olivia, so she lets the weight of his words sink in. Every time they work together it feels like falling in love with him all over again, losing track of time. Whatever connection had brought them together a long time ago is still there: electric, vibrant, and profound.
With Olivia seemingly lost in thought Fitz continues. "I told you I'm not done. I don't want to retire. But I know how much you love OPA…" he trails off. " You wouldn't need to commit to anything. I know how your life is. But before, when I mentioned things I'd like to do after the presidency, gun reform and things like that, whatever it is I want you with me."
"I think we should do it. Something," Olivia says, struggling to finish her sentence.
Fitz nods. "Ok. We can work through the details after." He focuses on her, making sure they're on the same page. "So, we're doing this?"
"Yes." Olivia could tell her voice got exponentially higher with excitement and her heart pounded in her chest. The possibility of changing things felt right, it was time. "I love you." The words come out easily and candidly. She loves him. She wants to spend more time with him.
Fitz looks at her for a moment. "I love you too," he says and tries to neuter his facial expressions. Olivia stares at him apprehensively, preparing herself for what he's about to say or do. "I have something to tell you," he finally breaks the silence and looks at her with an unsure smile.
"What?" Olivia asks, caught off guard by how giddy he suddenly became.
"I got a call before you woke up this morning."
"About what?" He's taking too long to finish his sentences, Olivia grows impatient but she can see herself getting excited along with him. Olivia waits until she's back in the living room to continue the conversation.
"That thing you mentioned. About wanting someplace quiet for us?"
"Yes?" She can feel her mouth dry.
"I had a guy–"
"A guy?" she interrupts with a smirk.
"Yes, I have those too." He squeezes her thigh playfully. "He found us some land in Vermont." His eyes get dark and serious. "It's ours if you want it."
"I want it." In a quick motion, Olivia leaves her seat and accommodates herself on Fitz's lap, wrapping her legs around his waist. "We get to build a house together?" She smiles predatorily at the way his breath hitches at the end of her question at the exact moment her hand slips into his underwear. "I want a piano." She strokes him slowly and feels him get hard under her hand.
"Anything you want," he mumbles and buries his face in her neck, his arms tightening around her.
"A lot of rooms," she says absent-mindedly, careful to keep their faces pressed together but her eyes from his. "For kids." She tries to pose it as a question or suggestion but fails.
Before she can tell what's happening, Fitz stands with Olivia still wrapped around him. "Are you serious?" he asks, pressing their bodies and faces somehow even closer.
He looked almost out of this world, both animalic and euphoric in his stance. Such a beautiful sight. "Mm-hmm." She nods softly, hoping to convey the earnestness of her statement.
With her confirmation, in a swift motion, Fitz lays her on the couch in a supine position and his body comes crashing down on her.
A/N: I know I said an update would take a while but I didn't expect it to take me almost a year. I've been through a lot in the meantime but I'm back and I'm trying to wrap it up. The next chapter's going to be my last. Thanks for the love and patience and leave me a message or a review if you can, about the chapter or the story overall. xo